You and Me
by OreoLine00
Summary: While at his brother's wedding, George Weasley sees someone that he hasn't seen in years, and doesn't know what to do. Should he talk to her, or should he let another three years go by without saying a word?
1. You and Me

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. I wish I did, simply because of the fact that I have only $40 to my name, but I don't own them. I also don't own the song "You and Me". Lifehouse does, and I'm glad I do because it's a much prettier song when they sing it.

Author's note: This isn't about this story, but about my real one. I Hate You, I Love You hasn't been updated for a very, very long time, I know. But I've just got such writers block on it. I know where I want it to go, but I don't know how to get it there. I think I may need some help. I'm going to try to force out a chapter by the end of the month.

Without any further ado, here is "You and Me"

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I couldn't have been happier for my brother. Everyone always talks about marrying their Hogwarts sweetheart, but that's all they ever do- talk. Not Fred though. Three years after we all left Hogwarts, he purposed to Angelina, and now, exactly four years after the day we all graduated, he married her.

It was a really nice wedding. They held it in our childhood back yard at the Burrow. Mum cried, as did Ginny and Angelina's mother. Dad looked so proud. Even though we've got three older brothers, Fred was the first to get married. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Ron, they were all happy for him. And me, well I know more than anyone how much Fred loves her, so I couldn't have been more happy.

After the wedding, the reception was held in a fancy ballroom in London. I stood off to the side, simply watching everyone laughing and dancing together. I looked out to the center of the dance floor and saw my brother dancing with his new bride, twirling her in every direction. He had a smile on his face like I've never seen before. Then I looked over to Charlie and Ginny dancing. Away from the dance floor, I spotted my mother and Angelina's mother standing with each other, saying nothing and wiping the occasional tear from their eyes. I scanned the rest of the room, happy to see some of the faces that I hadn't seen in years.

Then I saw her.

What day is it

And in what month

This clock never seemed so alive

I can't keep up and I can't back down

I've been losing so much time

She was standing off to the side of the dance floor, talking to a couple of Angelina's friends from work, holding a glass of champagne. She wore a scarlet red dress that made her look absolutely beautiful. Stunning. Breath-taking. Gorgeous. Her brown hair was in a fancy bun, and a few strands fell over her face.

Alicia Spinnet looked beautiful.

I locked my eyes on to her, and for a split second, I forgot where I was. I had always thought that Alicia was an attractive girl, but tonight… she was simply stunning. Maybe it was the way that the dim lighting shadowed her face. Maybe it was the fact that her dress, for some reason looked perfect with her chocolate brown eyes. I don't know why, but something that night made her look absolutely beautiful.

One of Angelina's friends said something that made the rest of them laugh, and when I saw Alicia smile, her nose scrunching up just a little bit, I got that feeling again. Like I completely forgot that I was at my brother's wedding reception in a huge room with 200 other people.

Cause it's you and me and all of the people

Nothing to do, nothing to lose

And it's you and me and all of the people and

I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

Of those 200 people, 199 of them didn't seem to exist. All I saw was her. Even though she was on the other side of the room, I could see her clearly. Every smile that she smiled. Every sip of her drink that she took. Every strand of hair that she tucked away from her face. She looked simply amazing.

And although seeing her made me feel as though the whole world was inside out, I also felt a little bit of pain. It made me wish that I hadn't had such an upsetting past with her.

Alicia and I had dated while at Hogwarts. Things were amazing, and they stayed that way for a whole year after we graduated. After that, I had gotten caught up in running the shop, and she got caught up in her work at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. We would constantly fight about things that never really mattered, and we eventually just drifted apart. Shortly after our split, Alicia moved to Ireland to work as a secretary of their national Quidditch team.

And that was the last time I had seen her.

Until tonight. I don't know why I didn't notice her at the wedding. I must have been too preoccupied to notice her out in the seats. As best man, I was focused more on my brother than who the guests were. It was his day, after all.

All of the things that I want to say

Just aren't coming out right

I'm tripping on words, you got my head spinning

I don't know where to go from here

I guess I didn't know how long I had been watching her before I felt a familiar arm being slung over my shoulder.

"She looks a lot different, doesn't she?"

I shrugged my brother's arm off of me and sighed. How did he know?

"Who looks a lot different?" I asked, knowing all too well who he was talking about.

"Oh come on George, you've been staring at her for a good ten or fifteen minutes now," Fred pointed out. So that's how long it had been…

"Fred, who are you talking about?" I asked, still playing dumb.

"Listen, you may be smarter than I am, but I'm still your brother. You were staring at Alicia and you know it."

"Was it that obvious?" I asked. Great, the whole wedding-going party had probably caught me staring at Alicia Spinnet.

"Everyone else was too busy fussing over Angelina's dress of dancing their tails to notice," he replies, which made me feel a little bit better. But then I had to think that if Fred noticed, anyone else could have noticed. As if he were reading my mind, he nodded. "Don't worry. Angelina went off to dance with her father and I was looking for you. When I spotted you, I saw you looking at her. So I decided to go talk to her."

"Wait," I interrupted him. "You talked to her?"

"Don't tell me you didn't notice. I was talking to her for a good five minutes before I came over here to talk to you. You didn't see me?"

I had been too wrapped up in Alicia to even notice that my brother had been standing right next to her. Like I said, she was the only one in the room to me.

"How has she been?" I asked, curious to what she'd been doing for the last three years.

"She's been good," my brother answered. "Very busy."

"Busy doing what?" I kept glancing over at her. She was talking to Ginny now, saying something that was making Ginny giggle.

"Why don't you go ask her for yourself?" Fred responded. "Go talk to her. Ask her what she's been up to the last three years."

"I don't think that's such a great idea," I said. I looked down to the sparkly tile on the floor, finding it+ suddenly intricate.

"And why not?" Even without looking up, I could tell that Fred was giving me 'a look'- one of looks that just screamed ignorance.

"Hmm, I don't know Fred, maybe because the last time I talked to her she told me that if I ever said one word to her for the rest of my life, she's hex me into oblivion. I kind of don't need that right now."

"So you're scared of her?"

"No, stupid, I'm not scared of her," I sighed, and then finally looked up to my brother. "Besides, I wouldn't know what to say to her."

"You don't know what you'd say? Ask her about Ireland and about her job. Say that it's nice to see her. Say that she looks nice. Say I something /I George."

"That's a lot easier said that done," I pointed out. I wanted nothing more than to talk tp her, but I didn't think that I could do if.

"Look, I'm going to find my wife," Fred said. "Just talk to her. Don't wait another three years until someone else gets married to see her. For all you know it could be her getting married, and you would have blown your shot."

And with that, he walked away.

Blow my shot? Who said that I wanted a shot with Alicia in the first place? I had my shot- we both did, and it didn't work out. I didn't understand what Fred was talking about.

Until I caught her eye.

She was still talking to Ginny when she glanced around the room. She looked directly at me and smiled, then turned back to her conversation with my sister. It might not have been a huge smile, but it was enough for me to make up my mind.

I I did /I want another shot. And another and another and another. I needed to talk to her.

Something about you now

I can't quite figure out

Everything she does is beautiful

Everything she does is right

Cause it's you and me and all of the people

With nothing to do, nothing to lose

And it's you and me and all of the people and

I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

I couldn't just waltz right up to her and ask her to dance. I couldn't just go and act like we've been in touch for the last three years. Three years is a long time, especially when you haven't talked to someone.

I couldn't figure out why she was doing this to me, or why she was having this effect on me. After she gave me that smile, I got that feeling again. She was the only one in the room, there in her scarlet dress and tricky smile.

She was easily the most beautiful girl I had ever seen before in my 22 years of life. I knew I had to talk to her. Fred was right; I couldn't let another three years go by without even talking to her.

I straightened my tie and fixed my collar. I took a deep breath before I took my first step towards her. I took a few more, then stopped. I was just about to tell myself I forget it /i when Ginny walked away and Alicia was by herself. It was his chance. No one was there to make fun of him if he didn't know what to say, or even worse when she hexed his brains out.

He began to walk across the room again. He cut right in the middle of the dance floor. As he walked, everyone else vanished it it, again, was just Alicia.

What day is it

And in what month

This clock never seemed so alive

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THE END! I really hoped you enjoyed it. I really enjoyed writing it. I think it turned out pretty good.

Please, please, please REVIEW when you're done. I don' know if I should continue it or not. I might, but it depends on what you guys think. While you're at it, check out I Hate You, I Love You, which I will hopefully update by then end of the month. I'm having trouble with it. Also, read and review my story "Soon". I'm really proud of that one.


	2. Beat the Clock

So apparently you guys really liked the story. I really wasn't expecting that type of response. So like I stated before, You and Me was originally supposed to be a one-shot and it was going to end right there. However, you guys gave me such great reviews, it would be mean of me not to continue. I'm just saying now that this story will be short. Five or six chapters, maybe. I was thinking that every chapter was going to be a different song, but I can't find a song to go with how I want this next chapter.

A really big thanks to the following people;

**KitKat001, Zero-0, Eruaphadriel, MADDIE, Clueless Bystander, Blazing Unicorn, nikkinikki29(For the IHY, ILY one too), Tay,** **and Inspins2011 . **You guys are the only reason why I'm continuing this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I promise.

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Fifteen feet. That was all I needed, fifteen feet. She was so close. I could have just called her name, she would have looked up, and that would have been it. I could see her much better than I could before from across the dance floor, and if possible she looked even more beautiful. Fifteen feet.

I was fifteen feet away from Alicia Spinnet when someone linked their arm with mine.

"There you are, dear. I've been looking all over for you," I felt myself being pulled in the opposite direction. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her standing there. "George, I need your help moving some things," my mother said, ushering me to the entrance of the ballroom.

"Mum, I'm kind of busy right now," I complained while I was being dragged along. "Don't you think you could have Bill or Ron help you?"

"Nonsense, you're not busy. You've been starting off into space by yourself since you got here."

"So if I had been staring off into space with someone else, would you still have pulled me away?" I asked her. She pointed to a table of gifts.

"Those need to be moved from here to your father's car parked outside," she ordered. "There's too many for us to just apperate the lot. I gave her a pleading look, but she shook her head. "George, that hasn't worked since you were 16." With a sigh, I grabbed a few bags in my hand.

"You never answered my question," I pointed out. I followed my mother out of the ballroom and to the doors of the hall. "If I had been with someone else, would you still have come to get me?"

My mother looked over her shoulder. "No, I wouldn't have," she answered. She pushed open the doors and we stepped outside. My father's car was parked right by the curb. With a flick of her wand, she opened the trunk. "However, you chose to come to your brother's wedding without a date. And even then, you _still_ haven't talked to anyone that wasn't related to you." I put the bags in the trunk and we walked back inside to get more.

"I'll have you know, mother dearest, that I was going to talk to someone just as you pulled me away."

"I'm sure you were, now grab more bags." I could tell that she didn't believe me.

"Really, I was. I swear!" I argued, taking more bags from the table.

"And who were you going to talk to?"

"Alicia," I said simply.

"Alicia Spinnet?" she asked. I nodded yes. "Well that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. What ever happened to her?"

"She went to Ireland working for the Quidditch team," I said. "Secretary's work. I'm assuming she's just back for the wedding." We had transferred that last of the bags and I leaned against the car.

"It's a shame she lives so far away. She was a sweet girl. I really liked her." She shrugged, and then walked back inside.

I sighed, looking around as the Muggle cars passed by. With a slam of the trunk, I couldn't help but mutter, "Yeah, me too." With a roll of my eyes, I set off back inside.

There were still people dancing. I checked my watch- a half an hour left. I had a half an hour to talk to Alicia. I was rounding the corner to where I saw her last when Angelina jumped right in front of me, causing me to come to a screeching halt.

"Geeze, Angelina," I said, glad that I hadn't knocked her over. "What are you trying to do, take us both out in one fall?"

"Shut up, you should have been paying more attention," she said. She grabbed my hand. "Come dance with me?"

"You do know that I'm _not_ your husband, right? I mean, I know that we're both devilishly handsome and-"

She cut me off. "I'm not drunk, George. Of course I know you're not my husband. But I know for a fact that you haven't danced with a single person today, and that's simply not going to happen."

"How do you know I haven't danced with anyone yet?" I asked her. "You've been too busy twirling and spinning to notice."

"Because I asked your mother."

"Oh." She tugged me out to the dance floor. "Angelina, come on. I don't want to dance."

"Too bad. This is _my_ wedding, not yours." With another yank, she pulled me onto the floor.

"I guess you're right," I said, shrugging. "I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind." We danced for a while without talking before she spoke up.

"You know, you really _do_ need to find yourself a girl, George," she said. "Then I wouldn't need to force you to dance."

"Yeah, well I was going to go talk to someone before you asked… _told_ me to dance," I pointed out to her. "But you wouldn't let me."

"Who were you going to ask?" she questioned. "Was it Marley from my work? She's the blonde."

"No,"

"Well was it Tanya? She's the really tall one. She's a sweetheart, but that dress… I can't believe she wore it to _my_ wedding. It looks like-"

"No, it wasn't Tanya."

"Well then who was it?" she asked. I gave her a tricky smirk, and as soon as I did, her jaw dropped and a huge smile took over her. "GEORGE! Why didn't you tell me?" She pushed me away from her. "If I had known that, I wouldn't have made you dance with me."

"I tried to tell you," I defended myself. "But you wouldn't let me. Angelina, you weren't taking no for an answer."

"Well why are you still talking to me? Go find her!" She gave me another shove, for encouragement I suppose, and the stormed off, muttering something like "_It took him long enough."_

I checked my watch again. The reception would be ending in fifteen minutes. Once again, I straightened my tie and fixed my collar. I began to walk over to the side of the room where I had seen Alicia. I was ready. I was confident. I was sure that I could do it. But then I felt like I was punched in the stomach when I got to where she was last.

Because she wasn't there.

The girls from Angelina's work were, but Alicia wasn't. I scanned the dance floor, hoping to find her dancing with someone, but I was unsuccessful. She wasn't there. I turned to one of the girls that she had been talking to. Marley, I believe it was.

She was in the middle of telling a story to two other girls. "So then Jared said that Missy said that Janice told her that it wasn't true." I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention. Nothing. "But even though Janice _swears _she didn't do it, Mark thinks that she did. And he thinks so because Kim told him what Jimmy told her, which came right from Alison's mouth, who is Janice's cousin who was there that day." I tried again, this time louder. The other girls weren't much help either. They just stood there fascinated with what Marley had to say. "I'll tell you what though, either way, she's still a- oh did you need something?" Finally.

"Um, hi," I greeted her. "The girl you were talking to earlier, Alicia, where did she go?"

"She went that way," she replied, pointing out into the lobby. "She told me where she was going, but I forgot. I probably should have been listening better, but I was trying to remember what happened to Janice. You know Janice, right?" I shook my head. She was crazy. Psycho. A few olives short of a pizza. "Say, would you like to dance?" I had to draw the line right there.

"Uh, no, sorry. I'm looking for someone," I said, backing away.

"Nonsense," she said, throwing her hands over my shoulder. "Dance." I wasn't going to let this happen again. Especially not with motor mouth.

"Er…" I grabbed the first person I could find, who happened to be Bill. "Here, dance with him. He lives in Egypt." I wasn't sure what my brother living in Egypt had to do with anything, but it worked. I rushed away hearing her ask him if he'd ever seen a mummy.

I checked my watch. Ten minutes. I quickly walked over to the lobby, the direction that Motor-mouth Marley sent me. The lobby wasn't very big, and Alicia wasn't there. Could I have missed her? I hurried back to the ballroom. I didn't see her. Guests were starting to leave. Could she have left already?

Five minutes.

It seemed as thought I was racing against the clock. I looked back over to Angelina's co-workers. Most of them had left, too, and it was just Marley, probably telling the same story, and a tall girl who Angelina described as Tanya. After a minute, even the two of them began to walk out.

"Hey, tell that Bill fellow to gave me a call sometime," she said to me as she walked out the door.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be sure to," I nodded as I watched her leave. I couldn't help but add, "When hippogriffs become vegetarians." But she didn't hear me, luckily.

I sighed. The reception was over. No one was left in the ballroom besides me family and a few close friends like Lee Jordan and Katie Bell. They were helping my mother clean up.

I had given up. All I could think about was how Fred was right. I blew my shot. I was just about to go help clean up before I heard something.

"Psst!" It was someone whispering. "Is she gone?" I turned around, but didn't see anyone. I looked all around- no one was there.

"Finally," I heard someone say behind me. "That Marley girl was driving me insane."

I looked to my left, towards the women's bathroom, and for a second, I swear, all I saw was scarlet.

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DUM DUM DUM! Who could it be? Yeah right, like you don't already know? Well you know the drill- the more you review the more I write, or something like that. I'm leaving Tuesday until Sunday, so hopefully I'll get a chapter up by then.

This chapter was short, I know, but it was meant to be. I don't know if I mentioned it up there or not, but these chapters are going to be short.

**Review. Thanks!**


	3. Listen to your wife!

I really wish that IHY, ILY could be as easy to write as this story is. I'm having lots of fun writing it.

I was in Washington D.C. for a week, so I was late on this one. I'm leaving again to go up north until the end of July, so don't expect anything else until then. This chapter is really short. Sue me. (Or not.)

Big thanks to; **Eruaphadriel, KitKat001, InsPins2011, Tay, Jagged Epiphany, Blazing Unicorn, Blandsaft, Satinzevi89, Whispered Paradox, Clueless Bystander, and Twisted Little Star.**

Disclaimer: I own a spiffy new camera. I own an Orlando Bloom calendar. I own two pairs of Roxy boardshorts. I don't, however, own Harry Potter.

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I had given up. All I could think about was how Fred was right. I blew my shot. I was just about to go help clean up before I heard something.

"Psst!" It was someone whispering. "Is she gone?" I turned around, but didn't see anyone. I looked all around- no one was there.

"Finally," I heard someone say behind me. "That Marley girl was driving me insane."

I looked to my left, towards the women's bathroom, and for a second, I swear, all I saw was scarlet.

Hiding. She was hiding. At first, all I could think was '_I didn't blow it! I didn't blow it!_'

But then I really took her in. How could one person be so gorgeous?

"She just wouldn't stop talking," Alicia said, shaking her head. "Like I really care about how her friend is cheating on her boyfriend with his best friend's cousin, or something like that. And I didn't even know her, so it's not like I could have told her to shut up, right?"

I nodded. She looked older than when I had last seen her. She had obviously gone from the cute little girl that I had gone to school with to a mature looking, beautiful woman.

"It was a nice wedding, wasn't it? Everyone knew they would get married eventually," she said, smiling.

I nodded. She sighed.

"You can say something any time soon, you know. If this one sided conversation goes on any longer, I'm going to ask people to start calling me Marley."

"Sorry," I apologized. I must have looked so stupid, standing there and nodding like an idiot. "I was just- I had been-" I paused. "You look really nice, Alicia."

She smiled. "Thank you," she said. "So do you. I don't think I've ever seen you in a tie before, unless it was required for school." For some reason that comment made me relax.

"Thanks," I replied. I finally felt a smile take my features. "Plus, I didn't say anything at first because the last time I saw you, you said that you'd pretty much hex my brains out if I ever talked to you again."

She laughed, her nose wrinkling just a bit, which I had always found cute. "Yeah, well I said a lot of things I didn't mean that day, and so did you. I'm sorry if I'm _that_ intimidating." I rolled my eyes. Geeze, I had missed her humor.

"Yeah, that was a while ago," I pointed out. "Three years."

"Three years is a long time to be away from anyone, none the less someone that you had spent pretty much every day with for eight years," Alicia said. "We were pretty immature then. A lot changes in three years."

"Yeah it does," I agreed. "I mean, look at Fred. It seemed just like yesterday he was lighting off fireworks while my mum was trying to cook dinner, and now he's married."

"I wouldn't doubt it if it _was_ yesterday that Fred was lighting off fireworks in the kitchen!" she said, which, of course, made me laugh. It probably _was_ yesterday. "You're right though," she continued. "I know that I've changed a lot. I've learned a lot being so far away from home. It's an adventure, I guess."

"How is everything with work?" I asked her, wondering what she had been going all these years. "And Ireland. Is it much different from here?"

"Ha! Work," she rolled her eyes. "It pays well, I can say that much. I enjoyed it much more when I first took the job three years ago. But Ireland- I really like it. I thought it rained a lot here, but there's not a day that I don't leave the flat without my slicker and umbrella. Alex always reminds me."

_Alex._ I was wasting my time. Alicia had a boyfriend. Of course she did. He was probably even her fiancé. I had gotten my hopes up for nothing.

"Alex, huh?" I asked her. She nodded. "So how long have you and Alex been living together?"

"Well we got the apartment about a year and a half ago, and then- wait," she paused. "Are you thinking, no!" she said, shaking her head, beginning to laugh.

"Alicia, I don't understand what's so funny," I said. "It was a simply, easy to answer question. I just wanted to know how long you've been living with your boyfriend."

"No George! You're missing something. Alex, or Alexandra, isn't my boyfriend! She's my roommate. She works with me at the office."

"Oh," _Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!_ "Okay. I was just assuming."

"Well you know what they say about people who assume." She smirked at me.

"So how long are you here for?" I asked, hoping she was staying for a while.

"Just a couple of days. I came in yesterday morning. I'm going to spend the day with my dad and my sister tomorrow, then one day to hang around and then I leave that night."

"Where are you staying?"

"I'm staying with Katie," she said, moving some hair from her face. "She's got that spare bedroom in her flat. Thank goodness she does, because The Leaky Cauldron is looking worse every time I see it. When I walked in yesterday, it was empty. There was just a pair of old wizards playing chess in the corner of the room."

"You were in Diagon Alley yesterday?" I asked her. Then I realized that it was a stupid question- of course she was. How would she be in The Leaky Cauldron if she weren't there? With a laugh, she nodded. "You could have stopped by the shop, you know. I'm always there."

"I thought you were going to say that," she shrugged. "Honestly, George, I didn't think that you would want me to. Don't you think that it would be a little weird if I just came waltzing into the store? I didn't think that you would even want to talk to me tonight. I got lucky, I guess."

"Well next time, be sure to stop by," I said. Someone else then interrupted me.

"Well, thank you for the help, little brother," Charlie said, full of sarcasm as he walked up to Alicia and I. "The ballroom is all cleaned up, and you _greatly_ did you part. You know- oh hey Alicia!"

"Hi Charlie," she said, smiling. Charlie gave her a quick hug before crossing his arms over his chest. "Has he been here with you the whole time?" Alicia nodded. "Well then I suppose it's alright." He looked down at his watch. "It's 7:50. They're going to kick us out of here in ten minutes. I'm going to make sure Mum doesn't need any more help. It was good to see you, Alicia. If you're ever in Romania, you know who to call."

"Thanks, Charlie," she said, waving to him as he left. "He's too much. You're lucky to have such a great family, George."

But I wasn't really thinking about it. I was thinking about Charlie's watch- well, what it said, at least. There was so much more that I wanted to talk to Alicia about, and ten minutes simply wouldn't do. The rest of the family was beginning to pile out of the ballroom and outside.

That was it. It was time to go, and I didn't know what to do. So I did the first thing that came to my head.

"Do you want to go out tomorrow night? After your day with your family?" I asked her. And as soon as I did, I felt like I shouldn't have. Alicia didn't want to go out with me. I was kicking myself in the butt. I knew that the next minute was going to be embarrassing. It was going to be awkward and-

"Yeah, sure," she replied, although I really didn't hear her because I was too busy feeling like an ass.

"That's alright," I said, feeling my face grow hot. "I know you're probably busy." Alicia laughed at me.

"George, I said yes," she said, giving me an obviously confused look.

"You did?" I said, feeling twice as stupid, if that was even possible. "I mean, I knew that. I was just making sure that's what you said." She nodded, obviously not believing it for a second.

"I bet," she said with a smile. "I'll say it more clearly this time. George Weasley, I'd like to go out with you tomorrow night." So that alone was enough to forget that I was at my brother's wedding.

"Great," I said. Even I could tell that I was grinning from ear to ear. "I'll pick you up at Katie's at 7:00?"

"Sounds great," she said. "That'll give me the day to spend with my family and then the night with you." And then, thank Merlin she did it, because I wouldn't have had the guts to do it, she hugged me. I hugged her back, of course, but I was glad that she went for it first.

"It was nice to see you, Lich," I said quietly as we stepped away. She gave me one last beautiful smile before she was gone in a loud **CRACK**.

"It was nice to see you, Lich," I heard in a mocking voice behind me.

"Shut up, Fred," I said, rolling my eyes at him.

"Oh, leave him alone, Fred," Angelina said, coming up to us. "I think it's great that you two are talking again, George. I have a feeling she missed you a lot."

"Well I have a feeling that he just made a fool out of himself," Fred said, smirking.

I shot him a look. "And I have a feeling that you should listen to your wife."

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**I told you it was short. But if I was going to get a chapter out by the time I left, it was going to have to be.**

**Review, please.**

**What did everyone think about HBP? I didn't really like it.**


	4. How Have You Been?

Over three months without a chapter. Lame, right? Don't worry, I totally agree. I promise I have a good excuse, though. My computer was sooooo messed up from the end of July to now. It's still pretty screwed up, but at least I can see the monitor now. I'm really sorry. I think this chapter might turn out all right…Remember; this story is going to be short. I'm thinking maybe two or three more chapters, but that's it. Maybe a sort sequel, maybe not. We'll see.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with him. He belongs to the lovely J.K. Rowling, who is pretty much my hero.

**Thank you for all who reviewed the last three chapters. You are wonderful.**

**This chapter is extremely short. Get over it. I'm leaving the state tomorrow for a week and wanted to get this out before I left. So enjoy.**

"You've been standing here for an hour, dear," said a voice, seeming to come out of thin air. "You look fine. You're either a perfectionist, paranoid, or extremely vain."

Horrible. I looked horrible, despite what that stupid mirror said to me. Who invented talking mirrors anyway? "Oh shut it," I said to the ridiculous piece of glass. "No one asked you."

I took one last glance at my reflection. I looked like I was 15- my hair was in every direction except for the one I wanted it to be in. I was tired of trying to fix it, so it was going to have to do. I sighed and walked out of the half-empty bathroom.

Yes, half empty. Out in the living room of the flat, there were boxes upon boxes, labeled everything from 'Various Exploding Objects' to 'Kitchen Stuff'. If it seemed as though half of the house was packed away in these boxes, it's because it was. That could only mean one thing; Fred was moving out tomorrow.

As I climbed over a box labeled 'Highly Dangerous Things', my brother walked out of the kitchen.

"It'll all be gone tomorrow," he said, biting into an apple. Not that I needed any reminding. I frowned thinking about it. "Oh don't look so disappointed," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm a married man now, remember?" He held up his hand, waving around his new wedding ring. "It was only right that I bought a house for Angelina and me. I don't think she would have quite liked living with the both of us, and you know that."

"I know that," I replied. "It's just going to be weird. The farthest we've ever lived from each other was across the hall once we bought this flat. And now you're moving into a Muggle neighborhood and pretty soon you're going to have four hundred little Freds who won't even be able to blow stuff up without the neighbors wondering what's going on. And I'll be here alone."

"I think it'll be good for you," Fred said, very matter-of-factly after biting into his apple once again. I gave him a 'how do you figure' look that he understood. "Look at you," he went on. "You've got a date with a gorgeous girl in tonight and you're more worried about my non-existing kids and what they will be blowing up. I think you've got your priorities wrong, man."

Whether I admitted it or not, he was right. "Yeah, well I guess anything to calm me down about tonight will work, right?" I asked.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" my brother asked with a grin. "You haven't been nervous about a date in years."

"I also haven't dated Alicia in years."

"Yeah, but you've known her since we were 11. George, you've known her for half your life. Do you really think you should be nervous?"

"I shouldn't be, but I am," I pointed out. "I was nervous from the second I saw her last night at the reception. She just looked so… beautiful. Not that Alicia hasn't always been a pretty girl, but last night she was stunning in that dress."

"Since when do you day words like _stunning_?"

"Since Alicia's been back in town."

"And if you want to see her before she leaves again, you better get out of here now." He pointed to the clock. 7:45.

"Damn," I muttered. I grabbed a jacket and threw it on as I opened the front door. I couldn't be late.

"Hey!" I heard as I was closing the door. I opened it back up and stuck my head in.

"What?" I asked my bother.

"Have fun tonight. Don't say anything to screw everything up, okay?"

"Got it," I said, closing the door and making my way down the stairs that led to the dark Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop we owned. Having the apartment right above the shop was convenient. Making sure to lock the shop back up after I walked out of the door, I began my walk to Katie's flat.

Katie lived close, right down one of Diagon Alley's side streets. I guess that's why she, Fred, and I spent a lot of time together after Hogwarts, which made me wonder why she never told me that Alicia was coming home.

As I walked the lamp-lit streets of Diagon Alley, I tried to think of things I could say to her. Somehow '_Hey Alicia. How have you been?_' Didn't seem good enough.

I ran out of thinking time when I found myself right at Katie's doorstep. I checked my watch. 8:00 exactly. I was good. I took a deep breath before I rang the doorbell. After a while, no one answered. Maybe it was broken? I picked up the doorknocker.

Knock 

_**Knock**_

_**Knock**_

I waited a minute before thinking _"She's not going to answer. She doesn't want to see me. It was all some big joke." _ I was starting to think about how much of a loser I was and how I was never, ever going to get anywhere in life if I couldn't even get women to answer the door when I came to pick them up when the door opened.

Katie stood in the doorway, looking like she had just been through a battle zone. A chocolate battle zone. "Sorry," she said, wiping some kind of chocolate goo off of her face. "I was making a cake and I couldn't hear the door bell over the cake mixers. Come in." I followed her inside.

"And that would explain the chocolate all over you _how?_" I asked, referring to her cocoa-splattered wardrobe and skin. "Katie, you're supposed to mix the cake _in_ the bowl, not on your face."

"Shut up or I'll hug you," she said, rolling her eyes. I held up my hands in surrender at just the thought of her transferring her chocolaty mess to my clothes. "Alicia!" she yelled. "George is here!"

"Coming!" I heard from inside another room. Oh man. Here it was, time to get nervous again. From the spare bedroom, Alicia emerged wearing a denim skirt that showed off her legs, and a baby blue tank top, her brown hair falling just over her shoulders. She looked great.

I wondered why she never worse stuff like that while we dated before.

"Hey, stranger," she said with a smile. Wow… that smile. I wondered how she could be so calm when I was shaking like a twelve year old at a Weird Sisters concert. Well, at least shaking on the _inside_.

"Hey Alicia, you look great," I replied. What a lame greeting.

Katie shot me a look. "No '_Oh Katie, you look wonderful too_' or anything like that?" she said.

"Katie, she doesn't have chocolate cake mix all over her," I pointed out. Alicia laughed, and I settled down some. "You, on the other hand, look like you just ran through a chocolate explosion. I'm sorry if I offended you and your cake mix."

"You better be," she said with a frustrated look, but I knew she was just kidding around. "So where are you kids off to anyway?"

"Good question," Alicia said, coming to stand next to me. "Where to?"

"I was thinking about walking to that new ice cream place near the Quidditch shop. They finally opened a new one after the owner of the old one died a few years ago." I said with a look that almost searched for approval.

"Oh, I remember that," Alicia said. "That was the summer after we graduated. He was killed by Death Eaters, right?" I nodded. "Well that sounds wonderful. Minus the whole Death Eater part." I got the approval.

"Well you guys better get a move on it before the place closes," Katie said, pushing us to the door.

"You know Katie, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you were trying to get us out of here for some special reason," I said, suspiciously. "Who exactly _were_ you baking that cake for?" Alicia laughed again. That was the second time I had made her laugh that night, and it was making me feel so much better.

"Oh you just shut it," Katie replied, literally giving us a push out of the door. "If you _must_ know, it's for Angelina. A housewarming present. Now leave before I hex both of you until you can't see straight." I gave her a 'yeah right' look before she shut the door. Alicia and I laughed as we heard an unmistakable click of a lock, as if we were going to go back inside and argue some more.

"She's a nutter," Alicia said as we began to walk down the dim streets. "I don't know how we've put up with her for so long."

"Yeah, me either," I said. It was quiet for a while before I got the nerve to break the silence. It was going to have to be good enough. "So, Alicia, how have you been?"

**DUM DUM DUM! You didn't think I was going to leave it at that, did you? How will the date go? Will it be fantastic, or will George say something incredibly dumb to blow his second chance?**

Also, _I Hate You, I Love You_ is postponed either until I finish this story or, unfortunately, indefinitely. I'm so stuck on that story. I just don't know how to continue it. It kind of sucks any way… 


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